The authors report on a brown chanterelle collected in the sandy soils of Madagascar’s east coast. As this specimen agrees entirely with the protologue of C. avellaneus, it is here described and proposed as epitype for this apparently rare chanterelle that was first described in 1924 by Narcisse Patouillard. Its systematic placement as part of Cantharellus subg. Parvocantharellus sect. Congolenses is demonstrated using a multigene phylogeny and its complete ITS barcode sequence is provided.